1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to children's clothing. More particularly, it relates to a garment worn by a child while the child is eating, and one that has particular utility when the child is seated in a high chair.
2. General Background and State of the Art
Feeding a small child can be a messy and frustrating experience, both for the person feeding the child and for the child. Food tends to wind up everywhere, with some small amount actually winding up in the child. Clothing, furniture, floors and walls all frequently need cleaning up after a small child has eaten a meal, not to mention the child itself.
Children learn to feed themselves while sitting in a high chair by using their fingers or with a utensil for the very first time. Using a utensil requires coordination and dexterity that are not yet fully developed in young children. As a result, most food ends up on the child's clothing.
Various forms of protection of a child's clothing have been developed to protect the child's clothing from food spills commonly occurring during feeding. Paper napkins and small neck bibs are common. Less commonly known are garments that cover more than just the upper part of a child's body. There are protective garments for covering children's clothing during feeding that may cover the trunk, waist and part or all of the legs of the child.
There are a variety of problems associated with known protective garments for putting on a child while the child is feeding. One problem is the method of securing the garment to the child. Many commonly known garments have an opening that must be fit over the child's head. Some garments have straps that must be tied around the child's neck. With either of these types of garments, securing the garment around the child's neck requires some maneuvering of the child's head and discomfort to the child, which may lead to some unpleasantness for the person trying to feed the child.
Another problem associated with protective garments used to protect a child's clothing during feeding is that while they may cover portions of the clothing of the child, they may restrict the child's ability to move parts of the body, for example, the arms, which can cause discomfort to the child and restricts the ability of the child to learn how to feed itself.
Other known garments of the type that are used to protect the clothing of a child during feeding may include elastic or other types of straps to secure to the child in the child's body or the legs. These straps can frequently be difficult to position correctly, especially if the child is restless. After the child has been fed, removal of a garment having leg straps may become a chore, as food can smear all over the child, the floor and the chair while a person literally wrestles with the child to remove the leg straps.
Another problem with known garments that are used to protect the clothing a child during feeding is that while some are designed to cover more than just the chest of the child, they are not easily adapted for use when the child is seated in a high chair. Most conventional high chairs have a tray supported by a tray bar, which the child seated in the high chair must straddle, with one leg on one side of the tray bar and the other leg on the other side of the tray bar. This may cause the protective garment to be skewed or bunched up and lose its effectiveness.
Most known child protective garments used to protect the child's clothes during feeding are constructed of plastic or oil cloth materials that must be wiped down or rinsed after use. A problem with such garments is that if they are not thoroughly wiped or disinfected after use, residual food can be pushed into the seams and potentially harbor harmful bacteria.
Another problem associated with known garments that are used to protect the clothing a child during feeding is that children tend to turn their heads and wipe their mouths on their shoulders while feeding. This tendency is most pronounced when a child's hands are full of food or holding a utensil. Most known garments do not cover the shoulder area.
Yet another problem associated with known garments that are used to protect the clothing a child during feeding is that they do not cover the areas (the upper thighs) where most food tends to fall when a child is feeding while sitting in a high chair.
There exists, therefore, a need for a protective garment for a child that can be easily and comfortably secured around a child's neck.
There also exists a need for a protective garment for a child that protects the clothing on the upper body during feeding, yet allows the child relatively free movement of his or her arms, so that the child may more readily learn to feed itself.
There also exists a need for a protective garment that can be worn by a child while child is eating that is optimally shaped to provide protection to clothing on various parts of the body, whether it be the arms, torso or legs of the child, without having to further secure the garment to the child.
There also is a need for a protective garment that can be worn by a child while the child is eating that is designed to be worn by the child sitting in a high chair without requiring adjustment of the garment to account for the high chair tray or for the tray support bar.
There is also a need for a protective garment that can be worn while a child is eating that can be easily removed from the child while minimizing the amount of spillage of food that has fallen on the garment.
There further exists a need for a protective garment that can be worn while a child is eating that can be easily sanitized to protect the child from potentially dangerous bacteria.